[Travis007]

That Ava woman (with the "monster" comment) sounds like the prototypical NIMBY bitch. lol

http://thetorontoblog.com/2011/10/18...rea-residents/

Wellesley/Sherbourne condo tower proposal gets rough ride at city meeting with area residents

18 Oct 2011

Photos are the article link

Strong opposition: A proposal for a 38-storey condo tower at the intersection of Wellesley and Sherbourne Streets has drawn fire from area residents who think the project is too tall, sorely lacks green space, family-sized units and adequate parking facilities, and will seriously worsen congestion in what is already one of the world’s most densely-populated downtown neighbourhoods.

Diamondcorp has proposed a 38-storey tower with 326 condos, of which 216 would be 1-bedroom and the rest 2-bedroom units. There would be no 3-bedroom suites. The building would have a 4-storey podium with 2,300 square feet of street-level retail space and three residential floors, topped by a 34-storey point tower. A gym, party room, lounge and outdoor amenity space would be situated atop the podium on the fifth floor.

Designed by Quadrangle Architects Limited of Toronto, the 116-meter highrise would feature gentle curves, a masonry-clad podium, and distinctive coloured glass panels on its corner windows. The tower would be set back 3 meters from Sherbourne Street, 4 metres from Wellesley Street, 5 meters from the laneway to its west, and 3.5 metres from the 3-storey retail and apartment building to its south.

Les Klein, a principal of Quadrangle Architects, described the project’s architectural elements. He said he was “very excited” by 159 Wellesley East, which he called a “classic City of Toronto infill development project” featuring “high quality urban design.”

“We have taken the incredible challenges of the unique shape of the site,” he said, and designed a tower that is “very different from the typical glass boxes” seen throughout the City. Quadrangle’s tower design features “gentler curves” instead of “sharp edges,” and wherever the building curves, “we’ve introduced a series of coloured panels,” Mr. Klein said. He added that the four-storey podium is “in keeping” with the height of the elementary school just south of the site, as well as the Wellesley Central Place/Rekai Centre for long-term care on the north side of Wellesley Street.

Many in the audience objected to the fact the condo building will extend right to the edge of the property line, against the Wellesley and Sherbourne Street sidewalks, offering absolutely no landscaping or greenery of any kind at street level. Only the fifth-floor amenity space would have landscaping.

Other speakers echoed those sentiments, pointing out that the neighbourhood lacks green space and public amenities, while those that do exist — including the relatively new community centre and the St James Town branch of the Toronto public library — are already being used to full capacity.

LMAO!

However, the woman from 200 Wellesley replied that the tower “is probably the very worst thing that we could have in that area. That highrise will be filled with drugs, pimps and prostitutes.”